BRICS Summit 2018: Xi Jinping warns Donald Trump against slapping tariffs on China, says there will be no winner in global trade war

Johannesburg (South Africa): China’s President Xi Jinping on Wednesday said that there would be “no winner” in any global trade war, in a direct warning to US President Donald Trump who has threatened to slap levies on all Chinese imports. “A trade war should be rejected because there will be no winner,” Xi said at the opening of a BRICS summit of emerging economies in Johannesburg. [caption id=“attachment_4821821” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Chinese president Xi Jinping in BRICS Summit in South Africa. Reuters[/caption] “Unilateralism and protectionism are mounting, dealing a severe blow to multilateralism and the multilateral trading regime,” he said, without mentioning the US by name. “We are facing a choice between cooperation and confrontation, between opening up and closed-door policy and between mutual benefit and a beggar-thy-neighbour approach. “The international community has again reached a new crossroads.” Leaders of the BRICS emerging economies — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — are holding an annual three-day summit with attention focused on the threat of a US-led global trade war. US President Donald Trump has said he is ready to impose tariffs on all $ 500 billion of Chinese imports, complaining that China’s trade surplus with the US is due to unfair currency manipulation.